# [texhax] Adjusting parentheses for intervals and functions

Paul Wagner paul_spam at gmx.at
Wed Aug 18 11:49:33 CEST 2004

Plamen,

> this ist not the Question!!! The Question is: should the size
> of the parentheses/brackets/braces be adjusted in case of
> intervals or functions. *Regardless* inline or display.

Well, I think this IS the question (at least to a certain extent), because I
would prefer "x/3" over "\frac{x}{3}" even in displayed math. For something
more complicated, for which a "real" fraction would be more desireable, I
think parenthesis/brackets/braces with adjusted size look better. Why should
there be a reason to have "multiply"-parenthesis grow, but interval
parenthesis or argument parenthesis stay at the same size? I know math books
that have all parenthesis at the same size, sometimes even the "multiply"
ones, but I contribute that to bad typesetting software...

Confusion between interval and multiply parenthesis can be avoided by using
"real" (i.e. round) parenthesis to group terms and for function arguments,
brackets for intervals, and braces for sets. Two levels of term grouping can
be managed by parenthesis of different size, and not by applying parenthesis
for the inner level and brackets for the outer.

(Just my two cents.)

Paul